RIVER LEARNING TRUST Page 1 of 19 1 AMENDMENT RECORD Date First Issue Description 2 INTRODUCTION Crisis management is the short term response taken by the River Learning Trust to resolve an emergency where people, the environment, property and information are involved. River Learning Trust adopts what is known as the Gold/Silver/Bronze approach to crisis management because: The overall structure is simple and easy to understand, Each group has a pre-defined set of responsibilities and boundaries, It is a nationally tried and tested system and is compatible with (i) government advice and (ii) practices adopted by the UK emergency services. 3 WHAT IS A CRISIS? The approach adopted by this Plan is designed to allow a flexible response to a wide variety of crises since past experience shows that it can be difficult to anticipate all circumstances. Examples of crises within the scope of this Plan include: Fatality/ Serious injury Natural Disasters Acts Of Terrorism Sabotage Accidental Damage Incident where one or more people require emergency treatment. Flooding, Earthquake etc. Bomb threats, kidnapping, civil disobedience etc. Deliberate disruption of equipment or services, theft of information. Fire, loss of services e.g. electricity, water. Environmental Damage Incident that leads to significant harm to the environment.
Page 2 of 19 4 TEAM STRUCTURE The responsibilities of each crisis management team are summarised below: TEAM WHO ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES On School Incident BRONZE BRONZE SILVER GOLD School Leadership Team at each Trust school UK and overseas trips including residential trips Team Leaders Leadership Teams at each Trust school Trustees including CEO, Finance and Operations Director Operational Operational Tactical Strategic Key features of the crisis management plan are: One central Gold Team, Provide direct assistance at the site of the incident to help draw it to a successful conclusion. Liaising with emergency services Liaising with Silver Team Provide direct assistance at the place of the incident to help draw it to a successful conclusion. Liaising with local emergency services Liaising with Silver Team command Coordinate and direct Company resource to resolve the incident. Provide close support to the Bronze team. In the case on premises incidents be the Bronze Make strategic decisions about: (i) the incident; (ii) post incident issues (business continuity); and (iii) the management of the media and regulators. One Silver Team for each permanently occupied location (School), Bronze Teams on each UK and Overseas visit groups; Membership of the teams is defined, Any three members of the Silver Teams are available by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Specialists may be co-opted onto a team for a specific incident. 5 RESPONSIBILITIES The main priorities for managing an incident are listed below: Take any necessary action to protect people, the environment, property and Information, To rapidly assess the nature and severity of the incident, To make decisions to prevent the escalation of the incident, To deploy resources to enable a successful resolution to the incident, To keep a record of events and decisions for future use, To manage any media or regulatory interest.
Page 3 of 19 6 MANAGING THE INCIDENT Each school has an incident control room Normally the Headteachers office for off-site incidents Adjacent facilities (This could be a vehicle if no other facility is available) for on-site incidents if the office cannot be used; These centres have access (as a minimum) to telephones for communication. Access to staff/pupil information may be required; for this staff have remote access to SIMs and can use i-pads or their phones. The appropriate Silver Teams are raised once an incident / crisis is declared. Silver Command will advise the Gold Team Leader, who decides whether to mobilise the Gold Team. Other technical specialists such as, IT and Human Resources are co-opted onto the teams as required. A number of flowsheets and checklists are appended to this Plan to help with the information gathering and decision making processes: 6.1 PRIORITIES Appendix A: Overview of Crisis Management System Appendix B: Overview of Crisis Management Processes Appendix C: Overseas incident Appendix D: Fatality / serious injury at normal place of work Appendix E: Fire / explosion / loss of containment incident Appendix F: UK Travel Incident Appendix G: Checklist Bronze Team; UK Visits and Overseas Incidents. Appendix H: Checklist - Response to Report of Off School Incident.. Appendix J: Checklist Silver Team Response to Off School Incidents. Appendix K: Checklist Silver Team Response to On School Incidents. Appendix L: Checklist Gold Team. The Crisis Management Team rapidly assess the following at the outset of any crisis: PEOPLE Are people safe? Have all people been accounted for? Are there any casualties? How / where are casualties being treated? ENVIRONMENT Are any hazardous materials involved?
Page 4 of 19 PROPERTY Is there any potential for hazardous materials to endanger people or the environment? What is the nature and state of any hazardous materials? (e.g. solid, liquid, gas) What sensitive environmental receptors are under threat? (e.g. rivers, drains, sensitive sites, flora / fauna), What are the local weather conditions? What are the implications to property if the incident was to escalate? Are additional resources required from outside the Trust? INFORMATION Is critical information safe? 6.2 COMMUNICATIONS Effective and efficient communications are vital to the successful resolution of an incident. Key communications principles applied during incident management include: 6.3 RESOLUTION Centralisation of the control of all information, both within and outside the Trust, All media and regulator enquires are directed to the Gold Team, or the Gold Team is consulted before a reply to such is made Communication of the outline facts with the entire workforce as early as possible to help to reduce rumours. Successful resolution of a crisis is dependant on a number of key elements: Define the real problem, both short term (tactical) and long term (strategic); Attempt to understand and address the underlying disorder and avoid merely treating the symptoms; Isolate all members of the crisis management teams from daily business concerns; If possible, contain the problem. Recognise the value of actions requiring short term sacrifice as part of a longer term success strategy; Plan any strategies on a worst case scenario. Keys to a successful conclusion of a crisis are: Clarity of communication; Clarity of responsibility; Flexibility in approach.
Page 5 of 19 6.4 INCIDENT CONTROL CENTRES The following are designated as site incident control centres: SCHOOL CHERWELL NORTH CHERWELL SOUTH WHEATLEY PARK CUTTESLOWE TOWER HILL INCIDENT CONTROL CENTRE Headteachers Office South Site Admin Office Headteachers Office Main Reception RLT Central Office Headteachers Office WOLVERCOTE Main Reception PHONE 01865 558719 (ex243) 01865 518225 (PA) 01865 558719 (ex318) 01865 558719 (ex300) 01865 877624 01865 877625 (PA) 01865 558944 ALTERNATIV E INCIDENT CONTROL CENTRE South Site Admin Office Headteachers Office North Any appropriate covered place Any appropriate covered place 01865 558727 01993 702599 Any appropriate covered place 01865 558301 Any appropriate covered place PHONE 01865 558719 (ex318) 01865 558719 (ex300) 01865 558719 (ex243) 01865 518225 (PA) Advised at time of incident Advised at time of incident Advised at time of incident Advised at time of incident In the context of this list Alternative Incident Control Centres are any appropriate covered place where members of the Silver Team can safely communicate. i.e a vehicle or other space not affected by the incident. The Gold and Silver Teams assemble in their respective incident control centres: Gold Team: At either; Cherwell North or Cherwell South Silver Team: Incident centres (Any appropriate covered place) closest to origin of the emergency or if it involves individuals travelling in the UK or overseas the incident centre at home school of those individuals. The Silver Team will respond at the school of the incident or, if judged unsafe / inappropriate, at an appropriate covered place. An alternative incident control centre will only be used in the event of the primary centre being unavailable or in an unsafe situation. 6.5 RECORD KEEPING Each Team maintains a log of events and contacts made during an incident. This is to enable a detailed sequence of events to be put together after the incident so an accurate report and timeline can be prepared. It must be remembered that the sequence of events and decisions taken could be crucial in any investigations by insurers or regulators. Forms have been provided in each control centre s Crisis Management Folder for the purpose or recording events, actions and decisions taken, and contacts. In addition a useful set of contact numbers is provided. A member of each team, or a person seconded to the team is nominated as a scribe to keep the events log. This should be their sole job on the team
Page 6 of 19 7 STAND DOWN The decision to stand down shall be made by the whole team. The decision will be based upon the following: All organisational issues have been dealt with; If required, all external agencies (regulators, emergency services, etc.) have been informed and no further information or liaison is needed with that agency; Relatives have been advised and where appropriate resources organised to meet their needs; All Public Relations issues have been passed to the Gold Team for resolution; The Gold and Silver Teams have consulted and agree that stand down is appropriate. It should be noted that there may still be information issues to deal with following stand down therefore, when the decision to stand down has been made members of the team may need to be nominated to continue liaison with individual families, insurance companies, regulators etc. depending on the nature of the crisis. 8 THE TEAMS GOLD TEAM Position Chair, Board Of Trustees Chair; Resources Committee Chief Executive Chief Operations Officer Head of Finance Operations Director Person K Robinson M Povey P James L Hughes F Rassel M.BHomra The first contacted is Gold Command. The Gold Team must consist of at least three members to be effective and can draw upon the other Silver Teams for assistance. SILVER TEAMS The make-up of Silver Teams for each school is listed on the Information Guide issued to each school Silver Team Member and also included in each Schools Crisis Management Folder The first Silver Team Member contacted is required to agree with the caller whether an incident is a crisis The Silver Team can draw upon other silver teams to supplement numbers, or other staff who may have valuable and relevant experience. BRONZE TEAMS Bronze teams at schools will normally consist of: Headteachers; Deputy Headteachers; School Managers; First Aiders.
Page 7 of 19 Others as appropriate Bronze Teams for UK and Overseas Visits will normally consist off Team Leader Team Members supporting the visit as directed by Team Leader 9 EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS (GOLD / SILVER TEAMS) Emergency Contact Numbers for individuals involved in the Gold and Silver Teams is on the Information Sheet given to Gold and Silver Team Members. For on-school incidents the Silver Team also acts as the Bronze Team. For UK and Overseas visits the Team Leading the Visit is the Bronze Team Leader OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION Role Company/Organisation Contact details Overseas Embassy s, Foreign & 020 7008 1500 Consulates Commonwealth Office Incident Hotline Environment Agency 0800 80 70 60 HSE Duty Officer (Only Outside Normal working Hours and only IF (see Note 1) HSE Helpline In normal working hours Health and Safety Executive Health and Safety Executive Tel 0151 922 9235 Tel 0845 345 0055 Vehicle Insurer Zurich 020 8762 8326 See Crisis Management Folder section 5 for a full list of contacts. 10 APPENDICES Appendix A: Outline Crisis Management System Appendix B: Outline Crisis Management Processes. Appendix C: Overseas incident. Appendix D: Fatality / serious injury at normal place of work. Appendix E: Fire / explosion / Type incident. Appendix F: UK Travel Incident. Appendix G: Checklist Bronze Team; UK Visits and Overseas Incidents. Appendix H: Checklist Response to Report of Off School Incident. Appendix J: Checklist Silver Team Response to Off School Incidents. Appendix K: Checklist Silver Team Response to On School Incidents. Appendix L: Checklist Gold Team.
RIVER LEARNING TRUST Page 8 of 19 APPENDIX A OUTLINE CRISIS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TEAMS GOLD TEAM (Strategic) RESPONSIBILITIES Business Continuity Deals with press, regulators and other Authorities TEAM MEMBERS Chair Board Of Trustees Chair Resources Committee Chief Executive Chief Operations Officer Head Of Finance Operations Director INCIDENT CONTROL CENTRES If required to meet, meets at either Cherwell North or South Site SILVER TEAM(s) (Tactical) Co-ordinate Trust response to incident. Liaison with ops team, any agency that might be involved, pass information to the gold team Identify and release resources On-Site Off-Site International School Leadership Team (Acts as Bronze and Silver) School Leadership Team Appropriate Governors School Leadership Team Appropriate Governors School Involved and/or Adjacent Facility BRONZE TEAM(s) (Operational) Deals with immediate issues Liaises with Police, Fire, First Aid Provides information Updates silver team on incident status School Leadership Team (Acts as Bronze and Silver) Supervising Team at location of the Incident Supervising team at location of incident Emergency contact number set at time of organising event. Otherwise normal communications method applies
Page 9 of 19 APPENDIX B OUTLINE CRISIS MANAGEMENT PROCESES Incident Occurs UK UK or Overseas? Overseas Go to Appendix C (Overseas Incidents) Injury / Ill health incident at a school Go to Appendix D (Fatalities / Serious Injury Incident) Fire / Explosion at a school Go To Appendix E (Fire / Explosion Type Incidents) UK Travel Incident (Day or residential visit) Go To Appendix F
Page 10 of 19 APPENDIX C OVERSEAS INCIDENT Overseas incident occurs (e.g.death, Major injury, Kidnap) Member of overseas team informs local embassy / consulate Team Leader provides local point of contact for liaison with embassy / consulate, emergency services and UK Silver Team Team Leader contacts emergency contact in UK Local embassy or consulate informs UK police in event of death School Emergency Contact raises other members of silver team. UK police inform next of kin Silver Team Response Silver Team advises Gold team of incident Gold Team Response a) Ensures appropriate resources (Staff, finance etc.) are made available if required b) Manage any media interest. a) Liaises with embassy / consulate in country as necessary and appropriate b) Liaises with team leader on status c) Contacts recovery insurers, if appropriate d) Liaises with and keeps the Gold Team informed e) Liaises with Local and UK police as appropriate to advise on protocols for reporting death f) Informs HR g) Jointly with HR liaises with family during immediate post incident recovery operation. Silver Team monitor situation and advise Gold team as required. HR provides guidance on liaison with family during and post incident Silver Team discusses with Gold Team when to stand down Accident Investigation convened
Page 11 of 19 APPENDIX D FATALITIES / SERIOUS INCIDENT AT SCHOOL PREMISES Trust employee/: (a) dies or is seriously injured through work related incident or (b) dies / is hospitalised whilst at work due to natural causes Pupil is seriously injured or dies whilst on school premises Witness: (i) Calls for support (ii) Calls emergency services (iii) Helps manage incident site EMPLOYEE Silver Team liaise with emergency services regarding informing of relatives (police will normally inform relatives in events concerning work related fatalities) Gold in co-operation with Bronze/ Silver Team liaises with regulator, in particular if a death has occurred Bronze/Silver Team: (i) Manages school response (ii) Preserves Incident Site (iii) liaise with emergency services (iv) advises Gold Team of incident. (v) keeps Gold Team informed about status of incident PUPIL Silver Team liaise with emergency services regarding informing of relatives (police will normally inform relatives in events concerning fatalities) Gold in co-operation with Bronze/ Silver Team liaises with regulator, in particular if a death has occurred Gold / Silver teams agree best approach to relatives, if non fatal recognising that the emergency services may have already made the first approach Guidance / support provided to the Crisis Team by HR Silver team monitor situation Silver Command, in consulatation with Gold Team stand-down Accident investigation convened
Page 12 of 19 APPENDIX E FIRE / EXPLOSION TYPE INCIDENTS Fire / explosion type incident occurs Working hours Silent or working hours? Silent hours Person at location (witness) contacts emergency services Emergency services take charge of incident Emergency services alerted by alarm or via external call (e.g. member of the public) Emergency services contact School nominated persons (individuals named on Information Guide) Contacted person raises relevant Silver Team Silver Team raised and (i) follow School Emergency Evacuation Plan (ii) liaise with emergency services (iii) resolve immediate issues (iv) Advise Gold Team of incident Gold Team raised to provide: (i) support / resources to Silver Teams (ii) manage any media interest (iii) address business continuity issues Silver Command, in Consultation with Gold Team stand down Accident Investigation convened.
Page 13 of 19 APPENDIX F UK TRAVEL INCIDENTS Travel related crisis occurs within the UK Emergency Services called Bronze Team liaise with emergency Services at location of incident Bronze team leader informs School emergency contact and Silver Team mobilised Gold Team advised Emergency / national health services may contact School emergency contact via bronze team leader with group. (enquiries to be directed to individuals named within the Information Guide) Silver Team liaises with individuals involved and / or emergency services Serious injury / death to an employee/pupil Yes Gold / Silver teams agree best approach to relatives, recognising that the emergency services may have already made the first approach No Gold Team: (i) Manage media interest (ii) Address business continuity issues Guidance / support provided to the Crisis Team by HR Silver Team in consultation with Gold Team stand down. Accident investigation convened.
Page 14 of 19 APPENDIX G UK VISIT AND OVERSEAS INCIDENTS BRONZE TEAM RESPONSE 1. BRONZE COMMAND INCIDENT MANAGEMENT Ensure if any personnel are involved they are accounted for; Ensure that personnel have moved to a place of safety; If Emergency Services have been called liaise with them on incident control and provide any information they may wish; Consider issues on Bronze Team checklist below; Report changes in state of crisis to the Silver Command; Ambulance left for hospital; Fire under control and out; If casualty involved inform Silver/Gold Command of location of casualty (Hospital taken to); Liaise with Silver/Gold Team if regulators need to be informed; Inform Silver/Gold Team when crisis is under control; Pass all media enquiries to Silver/Gold Team; Appraise whether resources are required; Make any request for resources to the Silver Team; Agree with Silver Team when to stand down. BRONZE TEAM CHECKLIST PEOPLE Are people safe, have they been accounted for (roll call)? Are there any casualties? Where are they being treated? What are they being treated for? Have relatives been informed? Do we need to contact our neighbours? Safeguarding issue ENVIRONMENT Are any hazardous materials involved? Do we require any personal protective equipment to deal with the material Is any available? Is there information available about the materials involved identity/quantity? What are the weather conditions? Is there any air pollution, smoke fumes etc? Is there any liquid pollution, contaminating land, drains, rivers etc? Could fire water run off be contaminated with hazardous materials? If the incident escalates, how will it affect the environment? PROPERTY What are the implications if the incident was to escalate? What key Trust functions will be affected? Do we need additional resources from outside the Trust? Do we need to evacuate adjacent buildings? Equipment damaged or stolen INFORMATION IT System hacked and information corrupted IT systems failure
Page 15 of 19 APPENDIX H IS IT A CRISIS? RESPONSE TO REPORT OF OFF SCHOOL INCIDENT CRISIS MANAGEMENT EMERGENCY INFORMATION CHECKLIST 1. INFORMATION Name of contact..... Contact number Who is involved (e.g. casualties)..... What is the event?... Where is it?... When did it occur? 2. CURRENT POSITION Have the emergency services been called (time)?. What services?... Status of person, plant, building etc?. Status of equipment; IT systems?. 3. IF OVERSEAS Has embassy/consul been informed?.. If so what and who are the contact details?... Has insurance company been informed?.... 4. FILTERING DECISIONS Is this a crisis as defined by the crisis management plan? Will there be a need to release resource (people /money)? If yes to either of the above Silver Team Member contacted raises the Silver Team. 5. DECISION or Silver Team only mobilised Gold and Silver Teams mobilised
Page 16 of 19 APPENDIX J SILVER TEAM MOBILISED - OFF SCHOOL INCIDENTS 1. SILVER TEAM RESPONSE (Silver Command) Confirm with the person reporting the incident, the incident is a crisis; If off-site contact person at incident to ascertain status and provide Silver Team contact information; Mobilise Silver Team and meet at control centre; Appraise whether resources are required; Identify someone to take notes (may be one of team or another member of staff); Identify someone to make any travel arrangements if needed; Most senior person of Silver Team to take command of team when it has formed; Identify and allocate roles of team. (Person to keep in contact with Bronze Command (if incident is off-site), who is to deal with regulators, who will deal with the press, who will deal with enforcement agencies, who will keep in touch with family, someone to keep Gold Team advised of situation); Are any persons who have particular experience of the incident context needed to provide advice to the team; Ensure only those persons authorised are present. Do not allow unauthorised persons to be present; Contact insurers if required; Report to Gold Team status of incident; If resources required get authority to release; Pass media enquiries to Gold Team; Maintain records; Keep in regular contact with person at site of incident (Will normally be Bronze Team Commander); If crisis is abroad do persons need other assistance? Should the embassy/consul be contacted? Does any employee family need to be informed? Are employee details required? Maintain notes of decisions and contacts made; Consult Gold Team when crisis has been managed, and agree stand down. Stand Down The Silver Team should stand down when: All organisational issues have been dealt with; If required, all external agencies (regulators, emergency services, FCO) have been informed and no further information or liaison is needed with that agency; Relatives have been advised and where appropriate resources organised to meet their needs; All Public Relations issues have been passed to the Gold Team for resolution The Gold Team has been consulted and agrees that stand down is appropriate. It should be noted that there may still be information issues to deal with therefore when the decision to stand down has been made members of the team may need to be nominated to continue liaison with individual families, insurance companies, regulators etc. depending on the nature of the crisis.
Page 17 of 19 APPEMDIX K SILVER TEAM RESPONSE TO ON SCHOOL INCIDENTS Ensure if any personnel are involved they are accounted for; Ensure that personnel have moved to a place of safety; If Emergency Services have been called liaise with them on incident control and provide any information they may wish; Advise Gold Team of Incident Report changes in state of crisis to the Gold Command; Ambulance left for hospital; Fire under control and out; If casualty involved inform Gold Command of location of casualty (Hospital taken to); Liaise with Gold Team if regulators need to be informed; Inform Gold Team when crisis is under control; Pass all media enquiries to Gold Team; Appraise whether resources are required; Make any request for resources to the Gold Team; Agree with Gold Team when to stand down. SILVER TEAM CHECKLIST PEOPLE Are people safe, have they been accounted for (roll call)? Are there any casualties? Where are they being treated? What are they being treated for? Have relatives been informed? Do we need to contact our neighbours? Safeguarding issue ENVIRONMENT Are any hazardous materials involved? Do we require any personal protective equipment to deal with the material Is any available? Is there information available about the materials involved identity/quantity? What are the weather conditions? Is there any air pollution, smoke fumes etc? Is there any liquid pollution, contaminating land, drains, rivers etc? Could fire water run off be contaminated with hazardous materials? If the incident escalates, how will it affect the environment? PROPERTY What are the implications if the incident was to escalate? What key Trust functions will be affected? Do we need additional resources from outside the Trust? Do we need to evacuate adjacent buildings? Equipment damaged or stolen INFORMATION IT System hacked and information corrupted IT systems failure Stand Down
Page 18 of 19 The Silver Team should stand down when: All organisational issues have been dealt with; If required, all external agencies (regulators, emergency services) have been informed and no further information or liaison is needed with that agency; Relatives have been advised and where appropriate resources organised to meet their needs; All Public Relations issues have been passed to the Gold Team for resolution The Gold Team has been consulted and agrees that stand down is appropriate. It should be noted that there may still be information issues to deal with therefore when the decision to stand down has been made members of the team may need to be nominated to continue liaison with individual families, insurance companies, regulators etc. depending on the nature of the crisis.
Page 19 of 19 APPENDIX L - GOLD TEAM 1. INFORMATION CRISIS MANAGEMENT EMERGENCY INFORMATION CHECKLIST What is the event? Where is it? When did it occur? Is it in the UK or overseas? What equipment or systems are involved 2. CURRENT POSITION Have emergency services been called (time)? What services? Status of person, plant, building etc? 3. IF OVERSEAS Has embassy/consul been informed Has insurance company been informed 4. GOLD TEAM RESPONSE (Gold Commander) Mobilise Gold Team and meet at appropriate control centre; Advise Silver Team which control centre is being used (with contact numbers). Authorise release of resources if considered necessary; Respond to media enquiries; Stand Down when advised by Silver Team that incident is under control Do family need to be informed? Do we need to release resources for family to travel? 5. BUSINESS CONTINUITY Are there any Business Continuity Issues? Loss of premises Loss of Reputation Uninsured loss Significant Plant Loss Set in motion recovery plans!